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the heat played better without lebron on the floor the whole first half. lebron played the whole last 10:13, and the game was tied with 3:50 left. the pacers simply outplayed the heat down the stretch.

this lebron guarding 5 positions talk is an urban legend. he is not a good post defender even against guys that are similar size or smaller.

Wasn't meant at you brother, just a general statement, I think 90% of players in the NBA hand check and we would have to define the area around the basket to make this call easier but as soon as a dribbler puts his back to a defender and backs in it is a natural reaction to put your hands out to absorb contact.

the heat played better without lebron on the floor the whole first half. lebron played the whole last 10:13, and the game was tied with 3:50 left. the pacers simply outplayed the heat down the stretch.

this lebron guarding 5 positions talk is an urban legend. he is not a good post defender even against guys that are similar size or smaller.

Who has James struggled to guard in the post, when? I have sat in the Time Warner Arena and watched him defend all 5 positions, he guarded Al Jefferson at the end of the half due to Anderson getting hit in the head and Bosh being in foul trouble so they had Haslem and James with Wade, Chalmers and Allen on the floor to close out the half in fine fashion I might add.. He is one of the best if not the best off the ball defender in the NBA at the present IMO but he is still a very good one on one defender on the perimeter as well as the post.

you saw how quickly they got him off of david west. he can battle for position, but he doesnt challenge shots once someone gets the ball in the post. hes physically capable of banging because of his size and strength, but hes not a good post defender. and thats not just david west, thats any time ive seen him have to defend once someone makes the catch in the post. lebron is not the worst because he does fight for position, but on his own team battier is a much better post defender.

i missed the game youre referring to? are we talking one legged al jefferson in the playoffs?

you saw how quickly they got him off of david west. he can battle for position, but he doesnt challenge shots once someone gets the ball in the post. hes physically capable of banging because of his size and strength, but hes not a good post defender. and thats not just david west, thats any time ive seen him have to defend once someone makes the catch in the post. lebron is not the worst because he does fight for position, but on his own team battier is a much better post defender.

i missed the game youre referring to? are we talking one legged al jefferson in the playoffs?

Battier is one of the NBA's best on ball defenders and has been for most of his career, they get him off David West to keep him from getting fouls and as I said he is a great off the ball defender so he is more valuable helping the low post defenders then banging on the block but to say he can't play all 5 positions is wrong! He may not be a great back to the basket defender but he is much better than just adequate and no it was the Jan 18th OT game. I apologize as I wrote that real quick without really thinking about it but Wade did not play and they had just signed Anderson, they tried Oden for a few minutes but had to settle with Haslem, James and Bosh in the front court most of the night with Chalmers and Allen getting the backcourt minutes.

reggie miller had an interesting suggestion about putting leonard on westbrook and green on durant. it may be a more favorable matchup from the spurs perspective. really though the game comes down to the spurs being more efficient in the halfcourt. they shot less than 40% in both games at okc, over 50% in both games at home.

the heat played better without lebron on the floor the whole first half. lebron played the whole last 10:13, and the game was tied with 3:50 left. the pacers simply outplayed the heat down the stretch.

this lebron guarding 5 positions talk is an urban legend. he is not a good post defender even against guys that are similar size or smaller.

So the pacers had 10 point cushion and managed not to choke it away while LeBron was on the court and you say the pacers out played the heat? Seriously? The pacers won but there is no way you can say they out played the heat.

To not play any of them is just not smart, Leonard is not young and was not playing bad if you are resting them for the home game and to sit a player due to it not being his night is one thing but your 5 best players the last quarter and a half is just dumb IMO. You are right though it will not be a topic if they win game 3(should have read game 5 and I thought Pop was dumb) but if they lose and I think they will people will all of a sudden grow a pair and ask him what should be asked.

Spurs win game 5 in grand fashion, it will not be a topic! I thought it was funny how Miller and Costas jumped on Kerr when he suggested the game was over with a little over 3 minutes left in the 3rd and talked about it the rest of the quarter but it was just Pop being Pop in game 5, he has 4 rings. Curious if you think it goes back to TX?

Who has James struggled to guard in the post, when? I have sat in the Time Warner Arena and watched him defend all 5 positions, he guarded Al Jefferson at the end of the half due to Anderson getting hit in the head and Bosh being in foul trouble so they had Haslem and James with Wade, Chalmers and Allen on the floor to close out the half in fine fashion I might add.. He is one of the best if not the best off the ball defender in the NBA at the present IMO but he is still a very good one on one defender on the perimeter as well as the post.

Yeah he's good (nowhere near great) off the ball, but points aren't scored off the ball. His on ball defense is mediocre. Any time he starts getting worked, he switches off to someone else and lets them take the blame. It happens over and over and over again. People see LeBron guarding someone other than the opponent's SF and think "Oh that's LeBron being a versatile defender" when it reality it's him passing the buck and taking stretches of plays off on defense. The last guy in the NBA who legitimately could guard all 5 spots and regularly did so in several games a year was Kevin Garnett, and he has done that in damn near a decade.

Yet another LeBron myth created by his fangirls, perpetuated by his lemmings over at ESPN.

LeBron. Basically same speed and jumping ability but LeBron is bigger and stronger.

You shitting me? Westbrook is one of the 3-4 fast people in the entire NBA. LeBron is fast for a 6'9 guy, but he is nowhere near as fast as Westbrook. Hell he isn't even the fastest SF in the game. Westbrook probably has the higher vertical too, but I'll concede a push there. I'd hope LeBron is strong since he's 6 inches taller and 70ish lbs heavier.

People need to realize that LeBron isn't and never has been the fastest player in the league. He's never been the quickest player. He's never been the strongest. He's never had the highest vert. What makes him unique is the overall physical skillset that he possesses.

I'm about to get up on my soap box here, but this shit that people like to say that LeBron has the most skill of any basically player ever has got to stop. It's ignorance at its best (or worst, depending on perspective). He is a good passer, not an elite one. He still has an average post up game (it was laughable when he came into the league, so he has improved there). He's a good ballhandler. But he is still an average at best shooter. Yeah yeah, he has a high field goal percentage. Do you know why? He takes 46.5% of his shots within 6 feet of the rim. Nearly half of all his shot attempts are either dunks or layups. What's even worse is that while he made 767 shots this year from the field, 486 came within 6 feet of the rim. That's over 63%. He's suppose to be the world's most versatile player, yet he's playing that Shaq game. Not only that, you can even breath on him when he barrels towards the rim. You make any contact with him, whether he or you initiates it, and it's a whistle. If he doesn't draw contact, he just flops and gets on the line anyways.

Durant is so much more versatile as shooter, that it's not even funny. Hell Durant not only was a much better shooter this year but he outplayed him on defense as well. To top it all off, Durant was even the better rebounder. Yeah LeBron had more assists, but look at who he had to pass too and really, assists don't tell the full story. I can have a shitty pass, but if a guy knocks down the shot, I still get the assist.

Spurs win game 5 in grand fashion, it will not be a topic! I thought it was funny how Miller and Costas jumped on Kerr when he suggested the game was over with a little over 3 minutes left in the 3rd and talked about it the rest of the quarter but it was just Pop being Pop in game 5, he has 4 rings. Curious if you think it goes back to TX?

Yeah, it comes back to Texas. OKC is a different team in front of their fans. Interestingly, Brooks sat Durant and Westbrook early tonight after playing them 40+ in the Game 4 blowout.

He will be the Jordan while Tiago is suppose to be the Pippen. I really don't see Tiago being as good as they want him to be. But I'm sure they'll pull some 15-8-4 guy out of some random country with a population of 8 million and keep on ticking.

He will be the Jordan while Tiago is suppose to be the Pippen. I really don't see Tiago being as good as they want him to be. But I'm sure they'll pull some 15-8-4 guy out of some random country with a population of 8 million and keep on ticking.